


You hold me above

by GemmaRose



Series: The Lawlu Gay Pirates AU [8]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternative Universe - Gay Pirates (song), Depression, M/M, Suicidal Thoughts, what do i even tag for Doffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 21:45:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6301564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A glimpse of Law's life as the third Corazón, and how much he's not at all over Luffy.</p><p>Set in the Gay Pirates AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	You hold me above

Law tossed the newspaper on his desk with a deliberate casualness and forced himself to ignore it for a solid half hour, until his actual work was almost done. If Violet was watching, he couldn’t look too eager to get news about Luffy. When he did pick it back up, he scanned through the Paradise and New World sections first. Then he deliberately flipped through the North Blue section, lingering on a small article about the new Vice Admiral Donquixote Rocinante. That such a klutz had managed to get himself promoted to such a high position somehow only made him hate the previous Corazón more. Had all that been an act too, something to keep Doffy and the rest of them from suspecting anything?

When he finally got to the East Blue section of the paper, Law let a smile flicker across his face. Even from half a world away, Luffy’s grin was infectious. 30 million beri was an incredible starting bounty for the weakest of the blue seas, but anything less would've been an insult to the rubberman’s strength. Anyone who could stand up to an angry Doflamingo, even briefly, was far more dangerous than they looked. There was no article, but Law tucked the bounty poster in a desk drawer underneath old medical records of the other executives.

\---

The first time Luffy's bounty got updated, the poster was accompanied by another one. Worth sixty million to Luffy’s even hundred, Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro certainly looked dangerous enough to deserve his bounty. What really caught Law's attention, though, was a line in the fine print. _Vice-captain of the Straw Hat Pirates._

Absurdly, that one line was enough to make his stomach twist. Luffy had asked him to fill that position, and he'd broken the boy's heart in saying no. He'd cut ties with Luffy to protect the rubberman, to make sure Luffy would have a chance to achieve his dream. He'd given Luffy up so the boy could become a captain, there was no reason he should be upset by the fact that someone else had taken the place at Luffy’s side which could’ve been his. No reason at all.

He still dropped Roronoa’s poster in the bin with the rest of the paper, and made a mental note to keep an eye out for news of the Straw Hat Pirates.

\---

There was a passing mention of Luffy’s crew in an article about Crocodile’s defeat at the hands of a Marine from East Blue named Smoker, then a few months later the Straw Hats made front page news. Law didn’t even attempt to hide his shock when Baby 5 handed him that paper silently. Luffy and his crew were being credited with the complete annihilation of Enies Lobby. That couldn’t be right. Even if his strength had grown exponentially since he left, there was no way a single pirate crew could destroy one of the three Marine strongholds in Paradise. It would take a whole fleet to accomplish that, at least five thousand men strong if not more.

The article was accompanied by a handful of bounty posters, and Law flipped through them slowly. Cyborg Franky, Devil Child Nico Robin, Cat Burglar Nami, a sketch of an ugly man named Black Leg Sanji, Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, Sogeking, and a pet tanuki listed as Cotton Candy Loving Tony Tony Chopper. They looked like the oddest assortment of people he’d seen outside of the Doflamingo Family, but that was hardly surprising. This was Luffy’s crew, after all, and the rubberman seemed to have a knack for befriending oddballs and weirdos. After all, he’d managed to fit in with the Family just fine until he tried to kill the captain.

Luffy’s bounty had tripled, and in the new picture he was still smiling. Law almost smiled as well, but Baby 5 was still reading the paper over his shoulder so he forced his mouth to remain a flat line and set Luffy’s newest poster atop the stack. He’d get a copy later, when nobody else was around to question why.

“Can you believe this?” Baby 5 huffed, slapping the back of her hand against the paper.

“No, I can’t.” Law shook his head. There was something the paper wasn’t telling, which meant it was probably embarrassing to the Marines, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out what it was.

“The captain should’ve killed him.” Baby 5 spat, flicking one manicured nail against the printed picture of Luffy’s bounty poster next to the article.

Law tensed, and the glare he shot Baby 5 was absolutely automatic. She fled, and he left the newspaper on the table along with most of the bounty posters. Luffy’s he tucked with the others in his desk drawer. He’d probably have to explain himself later, but it wouldn’t be hard to defend his reaction. Luffy had, at one point, been their nakama.

\---

Not long at all after the Enies Lobby incident, Doflamingo was called away to Marineford to provide support for the coming war against the Whitebeard Pirates. It was nice to have some breathing room, but even alone Law could feel Doffy’s strings wrapping around his wrists, his neck, his legs. He was updating Buffalo’s medical file when he heard the familiar sound of strings cutting through the air, and a moment later Doflamingo himself was crouched on the window sill.

“Welcome home.” Law said, putting on a smile.

“I missed you.” Doflamingo smirked, and pulled Law in for a quick kiss. It was almost gentle, by Doffy’s standards, and Law gasped slightly when the captain pulled back. “Were you lonely without me, Law?” he whispered in Law’s ear, sending tingles down his spine.

“Yes.” Law said, and felt Doflamingo smile.

“Good boy.” the blond said quietly, patting the top of Law’s hat as he straightened up. Law smiled, and Doffy’s hand rested on his head for a long moment before lifting. “I’ll be expecting you after dinner, of course.”

“Of course.” Law nodded, and strings whistled through the air just a second before Doflamingo stepped out the window to walk around to the front door. Doffy had missed him, and he held tight to that small spark of warmth as he headed to dinner. The captain could’ve come in the front door from the start, but instead he’d chosen to greet Law first. Doffy loved him, even if he wasn’t the best at showing it in bed.

-

Law shut the door to Doflamingo’s chambers behind himself, and his legs felt weak in a way which had nothing to do with his still-bloody injuries. Doffy had told them all during dinner that Luffy was present at Marineford, trying to save Fire Fist Ace, but only as Law had been dressing himself a few minutes ago had he revealed the full extent of the rubberman’s involvement. Luffy had been the one holding his older brother when the man died, and had received a grievous wound from the Admiral who killed Fire Fist. A wound so terrible, Luffy was probably already dead, along with the ex-Shichibukai Jinbe.

Law staggered into his own room, and slumped against the door as soon as it was shut. Luffy, dead? It didn’t add up. Luffy’s life was a constant, like the sun shining or the tides changing. Luffy held the will of D, he was like Ace, he was like Law. They were the ones cursed to survive the impossible, and to think that anything could stop Luffy from achieving his dream of being King of the Pirates felt like something close to heresy. Luffy couldn’t just die, he was too strong, but- what if he did?

Law took a shuddering breath, but couldn’t banish the thought from his mind as he formed a Room and started healing his cuts and bruises. Why did it matter if Luffy was dead or alive? He’d sworn to cut all ties, it wasn’t like he’d see the rubberman again either way. But, no. If Luffy wanted to be the Pirate King he’d have to fight Doflamingo for the title. If he was alive, Law would get to see him at least one more time. He’d have a chance to apologize for breaking Luffy’s heart. Luffy had to be alive for him to do that. Luffy had to be alive, it was as simple as that.

-

It felt like months later that Law saw a paper in a news stand with a large picture of Luffy splashed across the front page. He purchased a copy at once, and read as he walked. Luffy was alive, and that was the most important thing, but the majority of the article didn’t make sense. If Luffy had a message to send, he wouldn’t do it obliquely in any way. It had to be the thing written on his arm, though the numbers and letters meant nothing to Law. Who was it meant for? What did it mean? Who had given him the idea to distract the Marines with that bell stunt? He had more questions than answers, but at least Luffy was alive and well enough to be moving around under his own power.

\---

Law leaned on the railing, and looked down at the ship’s wake. He was headed back, and the thought made his stomach turn. He lifted a hand to rub at his throat, at the mesh of barely-there scars which would never quite heal, and kept his eyes fixed on the passing waves. It would be so simple, really. Night was falling, and his coat was dark. He could just lean a little farther, overbalance like the previous Corazon had done so often and plunge himself head first into the ocean. And since he was a devil fruit user, he would probably pass out before he inhaled much water if any.

A smile flickered at the edge of Law’s mouth, and he leaned a bit more of his weight on the railing. How far would he have to lean before it happened? What was the point of no return, when it came to a body as scrawny as his? If he just leaned a bit further out, he could learn the answer first hand and have the added bonus of never seeing Doflamingo’s smug smile ever again.

He found the tipping point, but as he made to lean forward and tumble into the darkened sea a memory flashed to the front of his mind. Luffy, shouting happily even as he fell towards the surf, and later smiling through bloody bruises because Law was the one taping gauze over the split skin. Law gripped the railing tighter, and leaned back onto the boat. Luffy was still alive, he was sure of it. And if he died now, he’d never see the idiot in a straw hat ever again. He probably wouldn’t even if he did live, and weighing options and probability the least painful route for everyone involved was certainly a quick surrender to the vengeful ocean, but-

_“Shishishi, Torao is pretty when he smiles.”_

_Law blushed, and tugged the brim of his hat down even as he ducked his head into the collar of his jacket. “Don’t say such stupid things, Mugiwara-ya.” he grumbled._

_“Eh?” the smaller teen frowned. “But it’s true!” he poked Law’s cheeks, dragging the darker boy’s mouth into a caricature of a smile._

_“Luffy, what are you doing?” Baby 5 huffed._

_“Torao is being stupid again.” Luffy responded, not moving his hands._

_“You’re the one being stupid.” Law batted Luffy’s hands away, turned, and was immediately wrapped up in a hug._

_“I’m not letting go until you agree to smile.”_

_Baby 5 giggled, and skipped around in front of him. “Come on, Law.” she cajoled. “Smile for the rubber idiot.”_

Law let his lips pull up into a small smile, and leaned back until his heels were fully on the deck and his weight was no longer balanced on the railing. It made no logical sense, the future Pirate King probably wanted nothing to do with him after he’d doubtless broken the boy’s heart two years ago, but when he thought about Luffy, the “welcome” waiting for him in Doflamingo’s quarters on Dressrosa seemed marginally more bearable. He was a Shichibukai now, after all, and the future Pirate King would at least have to defeat him before claiming that coveted title. That defeat could serve as his apology, broken bones in exchange for a broken heart was still a poor trade, but it would be more satisfying than any amount of words. He’d be able to die after that, surely.

The knowledge that he was willingly returning to Doflamingo still sat heavy in his chest, but the weight was slightly less now. Not much lighter, but enough that he could breathe. Luffy was alive, he was sure of it, and one day they would see each other again. Probably in battle, but that was fine by him, the battlefield was a good place to pay penance. Until that day came, he would just live in hope of seeing the sun again.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, this came out more depressing than I meant it to. Memo to self: don’t write Law while listening to MCR.


End file.
